Since last week’s decision from Libya’s Supreme Court, there has been an increase in activity to resolve the case involving five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor who allegedly infected 438 Libyan children with AIDS at a hospital in Benghazi. Since being infected, at least 56 have died.
Background
Nurses Snezhana Dimitrova, Nasya Nenova, Valya Cherveniashka, Valentina Siropulo and Kristiana Valcheva and doctor Ashraf Juma Hajuj have been in jail since 1999 and say that they were tortured to confess to the crime. They are supported by evidence that shows the AIDS infections occurred before the six arrived in the country and is actually due to poor hygiene and overall systemic failures of the Libyan government’s health initiatives, according to foreign HIV experts. In 2004 they were sentenced to death and Libya’s Supreme Court upheld that ruling last week. The last remaining legal option is for the High Judicial Council’s review of the case.
Negotiations Underway
The European Union, which Bulgaria joined in January 2007, has been involved in negotiations with the Libyan government over the fate of the six jailed medical professionals. The United States has also participated in the diplomatic efforts to assist the six medical professionals. EU and US officials have said that if the six are not released there will be diplomatic costs for Libya. Talks between the EU and families of the children infected have been ongoing for weeks and it appears a deal could be reached very soon.
The overall outcome remains unknown as the High Judicial Council met July 16th and had to postpone a decision on the case until July 17th regarding whether to uphold or overturn the decision made by the Libyan officials said that the High Judicial Council will only release the six if a they agree to the monetary compensation. A possible way the EU might pay Libya is through debt relief from Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, and the Czech Republic. All of this debt was accrued while these countries were part of the Soviet Union in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Projection
We believe that a resolution will be reached that will involve some form of payment of around $400 million United States dollars and possibly with the Bulgarian nurses allowed to serve an unspecified amount of time in a Bulgarian prison. Since the dismantling of his weapons of mass destruction, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has sought to improve his ties to various Western countries.
We believe the payout of approximately $400 million will be considered ‘blood money’ by the High Judicial Council and will then result in the release of the six medical professionals.
In the long run, these kinds of judicial activities will cause investors, aid workers and tourists to think twice about Libyan government institutions and processes.
